When You Wish Upon a Star
by AnHeiressofaSOLDIER
Summary: Set after Lightning Returns. Serah deals with the guilt of having once been willing to sacrifice Alyssa and Yeul's lives for the greater good, as well as remnants of her Seeress abilities. Snow/Serah. Serah character study.


**When You Wish Upon a Star**

It was raining out, Serah mused. As she opened the sliding door in the living room of her and Snow's new house, she couldn't help but lean out into the open and to enjoy the small droplets that chose to caress her skin.

She had come to love storms after having come to Earth. Perhaps it was because there were no more monsters to contend with so that she could actually enjoy them when they occurred? Snow seemed to think that was the reason, anyway, but Serah wondered if maybe it was really her getting closure about what had happened at the Bresha Ruins in Five AF.

In that time and place, Alyssa had cried over her friend's gravestone—her own gravestone, in truth—and even for the many lives the former L'cie had been able to help and bring into the new world, the life of one Ms. Zaidelle was something that couldn't be helped.

Still... Serah liked to believe that her estranged friend would have been proud of what they'd done in the face of _Bhunivelze_'s plans. Or so she liked to think, anyway...

"Well, what do you think, Prior?" Serah asked, as she finally shut the door and walked to the room across the hall, where her daughter slept. She was quiet, of course, when she went to spill her thoughts to her infant baby. She didn't want to wake the poor dear up after she'd just gotten some long needed rest, after all.

As it stood, Prior seemed to have more of her father's disdain for rainy weather, and therefore could never sleep when there was lightning out. Something that had, of course, made Snow laugh with mirth when they'd discovered that small fact.

And in the end, Serah didn't know if it had been to spare her husband's life or in trying to spare Lightning's feelings, that she'd kept the whole thing a secret from her sister. Except now, of course, when Claire was supposed to be coming over late for a visit. To that end, Serah supposed there was nothing she could do anymore to keep lightning's namesake from knowing how scared Prior was of the stuff.

Not that she was complaining, though. Something like this was much simpler and better than the hectic lives they'd all lived on Cocoon and then Pulse. It was hard to remember sometimes, though...

"Hey, Serah—do you think it would be all right if I wore this tie to- Oh, hey. Did you get Prior to sleep? That's good to hear; I was starting to think we might have to give her blanket back to her before it was completely washed."

Smiling at Snow—just as he came into the room and dropped a kiss to her forehead—Serah took his large hand in her own and held it there for a long moment. Sometimes, she still had nightmares of her journeys, death, and being somewhere that she couldn't even put into words.

Most of all, though, she still dreamt about losing Snow, or having to see him die to the massive Flan again.

Fang, Serah knew, defined what she was going through as "anxiety attacks", and explained that the people who hadn't been the cream of the crop back on Gran Pulse would often get them when they came up against monsters.

And if she were being honest, that was exactly what it felt like to Serah: that a monster had seized her heart in a vice grip and refused to let it go. And though she hated being the clingy sort of wife who had to constantly reassure herself with her husband's presence, she couldn't exactly stop her actions, either.

Fortunately, though, Snow seemed to understand and didn't seem to begrudge her it at all. Instead, he seemed to savor her just as much as she did him. But knowing that they really needed to get a move on to prepare for Lightning, Serah pulled away before she could think of even more reasons that she should never let Snow out of her sight.

Then, looking at the tie he had in his hands, she had to laugh before quickly giving him her assent that it would be fine for him to wear it. Prior, particularly, would love to see her daddy sporting a tie with crayons printed onto it, Serah thought. Mainly because her room was decked out that way itself—Prior seemed to particularly be drawn to the color yellow—but also because she always loved to pull Snow closer to her with it.

Idly, Serah wondered if they ever had a son, if he would be just as interested in her engagement necklace as Prior was with her dad's neckties. In the back of her mind, Serah couldn't get the thought of a smiling little boy with blond hair and green-blue eyes out of her head. And whether it was the leftover remains of the Eyes of Etro talking for her or something else, Serah got the sense that they _would_ have that son and that he would be a momma's boy, just as much as Prior was a daddy's girl.

Quickly darting out of the room—and Snow was quick to follow, as he obviously saw the expression she'd been trying to hide—Serah ducked under the round arch and headed for the front room.

Heading east, she tried to discreetly get away from Snow before he could truly figure out what she was trying to hide. Apparently he wasn't having any of that, though, because walking under the arch himself—and not even heading his head on it for once, it seemed—Snow effortlessly caught up to Serah and caught her in his arms before she could even think to do anything about it.

Squealing much too loudly, as he picked her up and began tickling her to death, Serah found herself wondering if the equally tiny Yeul ever had to deal with such things when it came to Noel. As Serah understood it, guys loved to tickle girls mercilessly… especially if they were tiny and still managed to pack a punch, Serah thought miserably.

But using some of the skills that she'd gained during her time traveling adventure, Serah quickly maneuvered herself to safety, in the form of landing on their mahogany floor and then going to hide behind their mini fridge before Snow could get to her.

Laughing much more than she thought she would be in the situation—because at the heart of it, Snow was trying to figure out the terrifying thoughts that she'd been having about Seeresses lately—Serah accused: "Snow, what are you doing? I mean, don't get me wrong: I love being held in your arms; I always have..."

And at that, her fangirl sounding voice reaching her own ears, Serah immediately wanted to shrink down and hide. But what could she say? She still remembered how her fiancé had showed her wish granting fireworks as he'd held her, to try and alleviate her fears of being a L'cie. And that, Serah knew, would always be one of her most cherished memories, so... who cared if she was so smitten with Snow, right? He deserved her love and so much more... despite what Lightning, Noel, and Fang might have had to say on the subject.

"Anyway," Serah continued on, as she got a hold on herself and her strange emotions. "We're being far too loud close to Prior's room, don't you think? We don't want to wake her—I just got her to go to sleep, y'know—so we should-"

"Serah? What are you hiding from me and why? I mean, we're on another planet now, so we shouldn't have to worry about things like we did on Cocoon, but we should still be careful... And please tell me you're not having visions again..."

As much as Serah might have wanted to deny it, the fact was that that was exactly what had been happening to her of late. And it had been such that the Child of Miracles, as Caius had once called her, had opted to talk to the most knowledgeable people on the matter.

Noel and Yeul, though they seemed concerned enough, seemed to think that she was imagining things. After all, Yeul hadn't had a vision at all since coming to the new world, and she'd been touched by the Goddess' light much more than anyone else ever had. And if even she was as normal as could be... Serah couldn't help thinking it arrogant to think that she might have been being affected.

Arrogant, also, because she had essentially chosen to let Alyssa die for the lives of millions: something that Serah was still trying to make amends for. And the only way she had been able to bear that burden had been through her knowing that she would die at the end of it all.

But now that she was alive and well again, Serah knew that in many ways it was a disservice to the other girl's memory. That was why she'd lived everyday since then trying to make up for the fact. But if she was just going to die again... what was the point? She'd planned on living every moment of her life in respect and memory of what Alyssa had lost. But if her glimpses of the future killed her in this world, too, Serah didn't know how anyone would ever find any peace about what she had done.

Maybe... maybe she was just getting ahead of herself. Maybe she'd just happened upon this planet's version of the ability and would be fine? It didn't seem to be taxing out her body to see things…

"It's- it's worse than what I'm thinking, isn't it?" Snow demanded, as he pulled Serah out of her reverie by shaking her shoulders slightly and looking at her with pained eyes.

"Serah, why didn't you tell me?" Snow asked heartbroken, as he looked at Serah with such a betrayed light, that she instantly wanted to look away but didn't because she knew she owed him that and more. "We're partners in everything. We're supposed to work things out together, okay? We've both had to go it alone too much as it is, but... we also have Prior to think about now, so please don't leave me alone in this, Serah. I'll take you to the doctor right now, if you need me to-"

Standing up on her tiptoes so that she could kiss his cheek, Serah tried her best to put on a brave façade for Snow, and she could only pray that he'd be fooled by it. "I'm fine, Snow. Really. You know how seriously I take things—especially children, after having been a teacher. Do you really think I would have invited Light over, if I thought there was something wrong with me that would take me away from Prior if it went unchecked? Besides, I'm pretty sure Light's going to tell me that I'm full of it when she hears about this, so it's really no big deal. I am sorry for lying to you, though. I promise you that I never will again."

And though Serah didn't mean most of the words she'd told him, she did mean the last part. She'd never lie to him again after that fact.

...

Oddly enough, Snow and Serah ended up having a much more normal time than they had been, when the would-be-stick-in-the-mud Lightning showed up exactly fifteen minutes later.

And if sensing that her aunt was in the nearby vicinity, Prior instantly woke up and began crying for the former soldier, just as soon as Lightning had sat down at the small tea table in front of her.

Stopping at where she'd been pulling at one of the loose strands from her camouflage patterned pants, Lightning shot her hand up into the air as she asked Serah, "I think I hear Prior calling for me. Mind if I go see her and get her from her crib? I know that Snow doesn't exactly like thunder storms, and he'd have to get stuck walking by the massive picture window if he went to get her, so I can do it."

"Oh, yes, Claire. That would be wonderful. Thank you very much!" Folding her hands together pleasantly, as she tried to not sound too phony to her brilliant sister's ears, Serah did notice the raised eyebrow that had graced Lightning's face, but she thankfully went to get the baby anyway.

"When are you going to mention it to her, Serah?" Snow asked the girl soothingly, as he ran a soothing hand up and down her spine. And just like that, as Serah turned to look at Snow with warm eyes that would only ever be meant for him, she found herself wondering why it was she hadn't confided in him about everything that bothered her.

So many consequences of theirs might have been averted that way, she realized, but it was too late for the past now, wasn't it? They still had their future together, though, Serah knew. A future she would fight tooth and nail to keep, and so that was more than enough reason to brave her fears and talk to Light, wasn't it?

Almost as if she'd sensed Serah's sudden resolve, Lightning chose that moment to walk back into the room with Prior nestled in her grasp. And Serah resisted the urge to laugh at how her daughter seemed to be pulling at her aunt's hair in a very… interested looking fashion. She didn't want to make it sound like she found Light's pain amusing, after all, but the moment that she saw a wide, proud smile make itself known on the other girl's face, Serah knew that she must have felt exactly the same way.

"This girl's going to be a great fighter someday, Serah. I can all ready tell you that much. Now? Mind telling me why you invited me over out of the blue like this? I doubt it was for a social call, to be honest. I mean, even when we had some mysterious reporter from back home asking us questions, you didn't exactly tell me that news in person, did you?"

Leave it to Lightning to figure out things so easily and pointedly, Serah thought, as she reached across the table so she could take Prior. Partly because she could tell that her girl wanted a bottle—something that Serah had, thankfully, all ready made and was there sitting beside her, because she'd thought the baby had been hungry a moment ago—but mainly because she knew Lightning wouldn't have fancied explaining strategies with an infant in her hands.

Serah, on the flip side of that, was more than willing to tell her sister her woes whilst holding a baby. And Snow, not to be usurped, quickly pulled Serah to him, so that he was holding his entire family there.

How thankful she was—Serah thought, as she leaned into Snow with a small laugh lighting up her features—to have this beautiful, sensitive man, who would always be there for her and his loved ones, and be her rock in such hard situations.

Snow really was the best thing that had ever happened to her, Serah knew, and she drew her strength to tell Lightning the truth because of that. No matter what her words or actions were about to bring about, Serah knew she would always have her support system and that was more than something to write home about.

"Sis... I don't know how to tell you this without just coming out and doing it. I've- I've been having visions again. And I guess I'm afraid that I have the Eyes of Etro back. And, if possible… I don't want to eave my family now. Not when we all just got back together like this..."

"Do you think it could be a different sort of psychic connection, Lightning? That's what I'm banking on, but I can't say for sure," said Snow, as he leaned closer to the table—nearly causing Serah to fall into it with his motion.

Quickly patting his arm so that he'd remember that he had two other people to contend with, Serah continued Snow's query by filling in, "I guess it could be possible. Right, Light? I mean— Only L'cie were supposed to be able to use magic, but I learned how to do so back in New Bodhum, despite that fact. It could just be something like that, right?"

And Serah mainly asked because she remembered what it had been like for Snow when he'd lost her. He'd been so hurt, guilt-ridden and suicidal, apparently. And as a single tear glided down Serah's cheek, just as the rain outside had seemed to stop, she knew she would have given anything to make sure he never had to suffer like that again. Him, Prior, or any of her loved ones, for that matter.

And it didn't escape Serah's notice that Lightning seemed to be itching to grab her gunblade from its sheath on her leg. Of course she hadn't had to wear her weapon for a long time now, Serah knew, but she understood the withdrawal Light must have been feeling without it on her. Even after five hundred years, Serah still often found herself reaching out for Mog, only to be let down when her favorite little Moogle was nowhere to be seen.

"Snow, can you hold onto Prior for a moment? I want to look over Serah's eyes."

Without a word, Snow did what Lightning bid of him and he gave his wife a slight nod.

Walking over to Lightning before she could lose her resolve, Serah prepared herself for the checkup of the millennium. She knew how thoroughly Lightning had checked herself over to make sure she no longer had any ties to _Bhunivelze_ or Etro, in coming to the new world, and Serah had no doubt that Lightning would only be more extensive in her search this time, seeing as how her life hung in the balance.

What she had not expected, though, was Claire to pull out a librascope for the job. Huh. And here Serah had thought that the tech for them had been lost with Nova Crystallia. She should have known that Hope would have figured it out, though.

"Well, do you see anything?" Serah asked, turning this way and that and feeling every bit like she was a model or something, as Lightning used the telescope to examine her for anything odd. "To be honest, I wonder how this is going to work exactly. I mean, the only thing that ever marked me as one of Etro's Chosen before was the 'Eyes of Etro' sign that would appear when I had a vision, but that's the thing: I'm not having a vision right now, so how will you be able to tell if I have the Mark or not?"

"I guess we'll just have to hold onto this—if Light doesn't see anything now, anyway—and examine you at different times. Especially when you think you might be seeing something, Serah. Anyway, I'm going to go put Prior to bed real quick and then I'll be back to take a look, too."

Serah nodded at Snow quickly, and quickly waved at Prior, before he went to do what he said. Inwardly, Serah's heart was swelling with love for the idea of his and just how protective and attentive he was to her. But outwardly, she was trying not to disturb her sister's readings.

And when she peaked one eye open, to look at Lightning to try and figure out if she was maybe nearing completion, Serah noted the look of awe that had come over her sis' face for Snow's actions.

She really had come to approve of Snow, hadn't she? Serah thought with amazement. They'd all been through a lot, and it had cost them greatly, but there _had_ been some things they had been awarded for their trials. And the love that she now got from Snow and Lightning both—and their approval of each other—was definitely one of those things. And she wouldn't have had it any other way.

"Serah, are you sure these are new visions you're having?"

Turning to Lightning hastily for the new tone that colored her voice, Serah put a hand over her shoulder uncertainly, as she asked the obvious question. "What do you mean, Claire? Do you think that maybe I'm just remembering the plethora of things I saw all those years ago?"

"That's exactly what I mean," Lightning explained over the sound of the green blinds banging on the wall behind her—something that once again had Lightning frowning and reaching for her non-existent blade. Shaking her head to get a handle on things—or so Serah assumed she was doing—Lightning then continued on:

"That's exactly what I think it could be, Serah. We're going to take extreme measures to make sure that's all it is, of course, but I know a lot of people have had a hard time... separating their new lives from their old ones. In fact, some former residents of Nova Crystallia seem to think that everything that happened there was a fantasy. But they do still dream about it all at night. I think that might be their subconscious trying to alert them to the truth. And Serah, you had so many visions that I doubt you could have made sense of it all back then. Maybe your mind's trying to do it now, since you actually have the time and ability for it this time."

"How I wish that's true, Lightning..." Snow stated hopefully, as he strolled back into the room and hugged Serah from behind. And though she couldn't help but melt into his embrace, Serah wondered if that was really the reaction she ought to be having. Especially since there was a chance she could die again... If so, would it be best to distance herself from Snow? She didn't want him to be destroyed without her again... he had other people he needed to be there for, most especially Prior, so if the only way to guarantee his survival was to be somewhat cold to him...

And as it happened, those thoughts were so much like what Caius' might have been in trying to find a way to save Yeul, despite the betrayal that that was to her, that Serah instantly wanted to gag and purge the thoughts from her mind.

Wait. If she was thinking about Yeul and Caius in such a way right now, was that a hint that she was becoming a Seeress like Yeul again? Or-

"Personally... I think that maybe I _am_ becoming a Seeress again, but maybe it doesn't have the same affect here? Things are different on Earth. And even more than that, Etro's dead, so... would it really be the same for me again, even if my powers were somehow reawakened?"

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. And at once, Serah hated herself for the looks that appeared on Snow and Lightning's faces, but... she couldn't shake the sense that she was right.

Lightning could, after all, still move as lithely as she had when she'd been a near goddess, so was it a stretch to think that, despite everything, her own abilities had also come back in a good light? Hope, too, seemed to be remembering how to make manadrives, librascopes, and magic itself, so... maybe they all were starting to become closer to who they'd been originally?

And though the three of them did speculate a little further on it that night, nothing was found out in the end. And so, Serah went to sleep still feeling a little worried, but she held hope through her relationship with Snow and everyone else, and she vowed never to keep secrets from anyone again.

...

"Serah, I've been thinking..."

"What about, Snow?"

To be honest, Serah wasn't completely paying attention to her hubby's words. Rather, she was watching on amusedly as Yeul took to playing with Prior in the park.

And though Serah valued Yeul's help... she couldn't shake the feeling that it was wrong for the former Farseer to be assisting them in such a way. Serah still remembered, heartbrokenly, how she and Noel had all but chosen to let Yeul continue to die, so that everyone else would have a future.

That was all in the past now, of course—more than five centuries, to be exact—but Serah still couldn't shake the sense that it was unfair to even be around Yeul after that.

After all, the other girl hated Caius for trying to sacrifice everyone else, didn't she? So Serah knew that Yeul must have felt the same way about her callousness. Even if she didn't hold Noel at all responsible for it at all, Serah thought it would be too much to think that the Seeress had also forgiven her.

Stretching out on the picnic blanket she was resting on all the same, though, Serah quickly craned her head back, so that she could see Snow better behind her when he said, "You've been able to use magic again lately too, right? Well, it seems to me that your old abilities, and some of the other L'cies, are melding into new things. So to that end, I think you'll be fine. Who knows? Maybe we're meant to get powers to try and protect this planet or something. Personally, I think it's a nice thought."

And it was those types of things that Snow said and did that made Serah understand how and why she loved him so much. Leave it to her hero to pick her up again so beautifully, when she'd been falling into the depths of despair, Serah thought with a smile.

Though she'd hoped for something similar herself, Serah had been afraid to put it all into words. She hadn't thought that she necessarily deserved to have such an easy future without consequences after everything she'd done, but... proving that he was once again becoming the optimist that she'd valued when her world had been falling apart before, Snow had summed it all up in words beautifully for her.

"That does seem plausible," Serah supplied, as she pulled herself up from where she'd been sitting under an oak tree and dusted her clothes off.

As contrast to the rainy day they'd been cast just three months earlier, when Serah had thought she might die again, it was now the sunniest day that Serah thought she had ever seen. It was almost as though the weather itself was trying to reassure her and to tell her that Snow was right on the money, Serah mused.

As she stretched her arms out on either side of her and spun around a bit, Serah tried to imagine that the coral colored rays of the sun were reaching out to give her the sort of abilities that she had had in New Bodhum, where a similar sun had once resided.

But, of course, the Ultra V rays were even better in this place, as they weren't caused by Fal'cie or false gods, and that made all the different, didn't it?

On Earth, everyone was free to make their own decisions and possibilities and so, did that mean... that maybe, just maybe, she was getting her abilities back because she herself had wished for them, to protect this new place that she loved?

"Snow..." Serah ventured the moment she saw him stand up behind her and prepare to wrap his arms around her shoulders. "Has any of your strength come back at all? Have you... have you wished for it at all? And if so, do you think it's possible we could get what we want through wishes?"

And instantly Snow was laughing. Something that Prior wasn't at all oblivious to, Serah realized with a small grin, as she saw how her daughter was trying to break free from Yeul's grasp over at the baby swings, so that she could crawl to her dad.

Suddenly, as a feeling of amusement washed over her, Serah once again found herself feeling guilty for having the teal haired girl look after Prior for them. This time, though, it was because Serah surmised it was probably hard work for Yeul to manage the rambunctious child without the assistance of Noel.

But as it had happened, Noel had opted to go to the market place while he and Yeul were in the Villiers' neck of the woods. And if the light Serah saw in Yeul's eyes—as Noel, coincidentally, chose that moment to appear with a star fruit in his hands—was anything to go by, Serah knew he'd made the right choice in going to pick that up for his fiancée.

"I think I should probably use some of my strength right now, to save Yeul from our monster of a baby," Snow told Serah with a sideways look, as he patted her on the head before departing.

And once again, Serah felt her heart become alive in her like it was a sentient being then. She remembered how that had been exactly the thing that Snow had done with her, before he'd vanished from her in the Sunleth Waterscape during Three Hundred AF.

What had she—what had she been thinking in asking Snow about the power of the L'cie again, Serah wondered, as she desperately followed Snow's movements with her eyes. If she noted any sort of disturbance, she wouldn't hesitate to run over to him and try and help him out. In fact, Serah almost wished that she could be having a vision at that very moment, so that she could know for sure that Snow wasn't about to go Cie'th on her or anything like that.

Thankfully, everything ended up being a non-issue a moment later, when Snow came hurrying over with Prior in his arms (who, Serah noted, seemed to be very interested in a blue jay flying overhead).

It didn't surprise Serah that blue would end up being Prior's favorite color. And even if she wanted to live in the moment, and enjoy the new knowledge she'd just received about her child, she found she was still too panicky to properly enjoy the fact.

"Snow," Serah said, as soon as he had reached the hopscotch court—and Serah was quick to jog over to the place herself, so that she could meet him there—as she took Prior away from him, and looked him over with concerned eyes. "What were you- what were you going to say earlier about my question? Please tell me."

And at the grave sounding tone in her voice, Serah assumed, Noel and Yeul looked curiously at each other before they, too, were racing over to Serah, to make sure that _she_ was all right.

Serah was more than glad to see Noel, of course, seeing as how he was her best friend, but the former Farron found herself wishing that maybe they had stayed where they had been for just a moment longer. Snow was all ready pulling her into his arms to try and calm her, and Serah got the sense that it was going to be a very intimate moment between them; Noel and Yeul certainly didn't need to see that.

Then again... the two of them were more used to public displays of affection because of where they lived now, weren't they? In that case, Serah supposed she wouldn't have minded hearing their advice on things at all.

Deciding not to hide all that she could do anymore, the pinkette quickly recited a fire spell. And almost instantly, a fireball fell from the heavens and lit the barbeque that someone had left just a few paces away from them.

There. Now they could all see each other better in the dimming light.

"Holy-" Noel gasped loudly, as he took note of the magic that Serah had just done and then looked to Prior.

Glaring at Noel irritably, as Serah assumed he thought she could have set her baby on fire far too easily or something, she was about to tell him she knew well where the fire blast was going to land, and that she had had it well under control, but Noel continued speaking before she got the chance.

"Serah, since when have you been able to use magic again? I didn't think that would be possible in this world. You don't think a god from our old world is still alive and trying to reach you again, do you?"

"Noel," Yeul chastised, as she looked him over with what looked like a warning in her eyes, but laid a hand affectionately on his arm all the same. "You mustn't speak so tactlessly. We don't want to scare Serah more than she all ready might be feeling.

"Besides," Yeul said the last with a small smile, as she turned her attention to Snow, who looked just as baffled for that fact as Serah felt. "I believe that this one might know things about this planet that we ourselves have yet to discover yet. You think there's a reasonable explanation for this, don't you, Snow? And that it has nothing to do with the Six and the Two?"

The Six and the Two... Looking back to the time that she'd been in the Void Beyond, Serah remembered the time that she'd met many Yeuls who had referred to her and the other former L'cie that way.

And now that Yeul mentioned it... Serah did have to admit that she had a point. So far, it seemed as though only she, Lightning, Hope, and possibly Snow had gotten any sort of their former techniques back. And that couldn't have been a coincidence, could it? Maybe something _was_ reaching out for the eight of them specifically again, if Yeul, Noel, NORA, and other people from Nova Cyrstallia remained unaffected.

And as such a thought made her nearly sick with worry for her daughter, Serah almost wished to ask Noel and Yeul to look over Prior for them—until they could be sure what was going on and that no one would try to use Prior to get to them, anyway—but she bit her tongue against the traitorous words.

"That's right, Yeul," Snow told the Seeress appreciatively. And it was only then, when Snow was talking at and looking at the young girl with enthusiasm that hid his regret, that Serah realized that he, too, had had similar pains in thinking about how they'd dismissed the thought of Yeul's life back then. But, as he had done with Hope for his mom, he was going to live each day to the best of his ability to make up for that fact.

And as those words cemented themselves in her heart, Serah promised herself that she would do the same. Not only for Alyssa, but for Yeul as well. It was her only option and maybe in that... maybe that was why fate had opted to give them back the things they needed to make it all possible.

Seeming to echo her thought as he squeezed her shoulder lovingly, Snow explained to the curious looks of Yeul and Noel, "On this planet, there are things called wishing stars. And they seem to work better than the wish granting fireworks back home. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to think this world of possibilities heard our thoughts and gave us exactly that. Possibilities. I mean, I know there are a lot of ways I could help people with my strength, so it's a possibility. Right, Serah?"

And as truth, understanding, and the choice to live the way that she needed to made itself known in her soul, Serah knew she would believe much the same way that Snow did. He was right, of course, and the way he was handling things was flawless—it always had been. Only this time, Serah knew that Lightning would approve of it all, too.

Standing up on her tiptoes again, so that she could give the most perfect man in the world a peck on the lips, Serah spoke of her new resolve: "Yes, of course. That's it, Snow. That's gotta be it! We're here to help people and make up for the wrongs we've done. What a nice way to be blessed by the gods here, instead of being cursed by our ones back home, don't you think?"

And as it was, Serah would have a vision about a school garden catching on fire the very next day. Then, her ability to use ice magic would allow her to save a group of Yeul's biggest fans, and to feel better about everything.

**Author's Note: My last gift for my best friend, Liz, on her birthday today:D**

…**This was really interesting to write (and boy, do I hope she likes it!). I mean, I guess it would naturally be weird to write FF characters on Earth, but I hope I handled it somewhat decently? **

**Toriyama, I believe, said there would be a possibility for more Lightning games in the future. And though I doubt they will continue the series (at least right now), I thought it would be fun to put my spin on a XIII-4 fic all the same. Which is why the ending's left a bit open here, btw. I might just come back to this someday…**

**Which would be fun, I think. I liked how Serah was dealing with guilt similarly to how Snow did in XIII here. That, and some of the other character things that I had to cut from this story, felt like a natural evolution to me, so I'd love to see where the rest of it could go.**

**Back to Liz: Happy, happy birthday, girl! I do have some other things I started for you (that I might finish someday), but unfortunately, this is all I have for you right now. Still… I hope you liked the three fics I did give you! I tried to put a lot of thought into them and what they all mean to us as friends.**

**This one I chose because we've talked about XIII a lot, and one of my first stories that you read was Snow/Serah, so it was fun to sort of continue that in a way. I know we both also love Snow/Serah and Noel/Yeul. In fact, you just had me write something up about Yeul on Tumblr, so that also works, I think! ;)**

…**I really hope I didn't butcher anything here. Though I love writing for this game, it's still a bit new to me. Tell me what you guys all thought so that I can improve, please.**

**And thanks a bunch if you stuck with me this long:)**

**-Shanna**

**P.S. And, yes. I did sort of make Noel and Yeul share a paopu fruit. XD**


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